


The First Day of Pool Season

by wildglitterwolf



Category: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Genre: Beach Boys reference, Fluff, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Pool, Pool Vibing, Pre-Movie, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24791743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildglitterwolf/pseuds/wildglitterwolf
Summary: How Rick & Cliff spend the first day of summer.
Relationships: Cliff Booth/Rick Dalton
Comments: 11
Kudos: 27





	The First Day of Pool Season

**Author's Note:**

> I had scheduled a month ago to write up this idea since I didn't think I'd still be working on any fics at this time. But since I'll be out of town anyways for the weekend for when summer officially starts and won't be writing until I get back, I just whipped this up real quick. Happy summer, everyone! Hope we can actually get out there and enjoy it.

Ah, the first day of summer. Pool season.

Not that it fucking mattered to Rick Dalton who could relax in the pool in the middle of an overcast in January. But still, any excuse to drink and eat BBQ was all he needed to feel like he could justify this lifestyle. Not to mention Cliff had recently gotten better at perfecting that good ol’ Kansas City barbeque he grew up on when he went into the city with his father. Also you wouldn’t be caught dead near the water in January in Missouri so he felt that could justify his pool time out of season in California that way. Plus, it kept the pool boy employed all year round.

That pool boy, of course, being Cliff.

Cliff came over the day before after stocking up on everything they’d need at the store as if they were hosting a party for a dozen people rather than just two. He suggested maybe inviting the neighbors over but Rick admitted he didn’t talk to Terry and Candice much seeing as the music business wasn’t his industry. Last time he did see him, Terry gave him a copy of _Pet Sounds_ , which Rick of course said he’d take a listen to but just tossed it aside. 

“Hey, man. What do you have against the Beach Boys?” Cliff said, laughing as he went to go find it and throw it on. 

“Beach culture isn’t in my blood. Now go clean the pool so it’s ready for tomorrow.”

Cliff just grins as the first melodic notes of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” hit his ears before he starts singing along on cue.

_“Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long.”_

Rick just rolled his eyes as Cliff came closer, closing the gap and doing the bare minimum dance moves. Dumb romantic teen shit music.

_“And wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong.”_

“Well-”

Rick nearly jumped when Cliff suddenly grabbed him around the waist, the music slowing down and Cliff slowly swaying them both together, forehead against his.

_"You know it's gonna make it that much better when we can say goodnight and stay together…"_

Fuck, was Rick’s heart pounding as he felt the heat in his cheeks rise. “Cliff…”

But that didn’t last as the music picked up tempo again, Cliff doing a mix of laughing while singing as he started rocking Rick faster than he wanted.

_“Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new? And after having spent the day together, hold each other close the whole night through.”_

“Damnit, Cliff! Stop it!”

The music slowed again and Rick felt Cliff’s hand grab the back of his head, making sure to hold him at full attention, lips dangerously close to his.

_"Happy times together we've been spending, I wish that every kiss was never ending…”_

_Oh, wouldn't it be nice?_

“Pool. N-n-now.”

“Heh. Sure thing, boss.” Cliff gives him a quick peck on the cheek and heads out the sliding door. He wasn’t laughing but Rick could still feel like he could hear him doing so. 

_Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true  
Baby then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do  
We could be married (we could be married)  
And then we'd be happy (and then we'd be happy)_

“Oh, wouldn’t it be nice?”

\---

Rick woke up the next morning, body twisted and barely covered with the blankets. In fact the more he thought about it, he felt fully dressed from the waist down sans shoes. He recalled as best he could that since they had so much food and booze they decided to get started on some that night. Cliff did his trial run on the ribs and fuck, Rick could excuse all the times he felt Cliff was trying to poison him with his food with how good that shit tasted. The food coma and beer really fucked him up good last night.

Rick groans as he pushes himself over onto his back with more effort than should be needed, scratching at his chest, eyes closed and sniffing as he was afraid to see what time it was based on how much light was pouring into the room. Probably well past breakfast but who cares about that when there’s more fucking ribs to put away when Cliff gets cooking later.

Cliff. Cliff…

“Cliff? Where the fuck are you?”

No answer, so Rick could only assume he was outside. He gave himself enough time until he felt he could finally function properly, get dressed in his swimming outfit. Maybe some coffee could do him some good first. Yeah, coffee. That’ll really wake him up.

He bends his neck side to side as he walked down the hall out into the main room, his focus purely on getting some caffeine in him. At least, it was until the bright colors outside caught his attention.

“What the fuck??” Rick had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing this shit correctly. In the pool was his floating chair but in it was a bright red inflatable seal. Other inflatable animals and a couple beach balls filled the pool floating idly, surrounding the chair and the person he knew was the culprit as he watched Cliff just lying there, sunbathing on his own floating raft in just his swim shorts and sunglasses

_I hope this fucker gets sunburned._

“CLIFF! What in the ever living FUCK?”

Cliff’s only response is to just lift his hand and wave without looking up.

Rick huffs as coffee was going to have to wait. He makes his way to the steps and climbs in. “Cliff, what in the fucking hell is all this shit?”

“Hey, man. You always get a floating toy and I get stuck just swimming around. There was a sale at the store so I thought I’d even the playing field.”

“You didn’t buy just a fucking raft, you bought a whole fucking army of this shit.” Rick picked up the nearest beach ball and threw it at Cliff’s face, watching it just bounce off Cliff’s face and out of the pool, rolling dangerously close to the edge of the hill but stopping just in time to avoid giving Rick the pleasure of getting rid of it. Cliff just gave half a smirk.

“I’m gonna pop every one of these damn things.”

“If it makes you feel better.”

“Starting with your raft.”

“Woah, hey there, man.”

Rick didn’t have anything to pop it with on hand so he had to settle with trying to flip it. 

“Try pushing with your legs.”

“S-stop trying to h-help me sabotage you!”

“Ah. Well if you insist…” Cliff grabs the beach ball near him and starts retaliating by playfully beating him with it repeatedly instead of just tossing it at him. 

‘WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!” Rick was shielding his face as best he could, not realizing his best method of escape would be just to go underwater.

“Defending my barge. Why don’t you go to yours? Or have you relinquished it to the seal?”

That’s right, that fucking seal. Rick quickly turned his attention to that, leaving Cliff with quite the amusing show of watching a grown man cussing out an inanimate object. Once Rick tossed it and the rest of the inflatables out of the pool, he finally climbed into his chair and made himself comfortable.

“And the lion has reclaimed his territory from the vicious seal and his army.”

Rick grumbled and glared at Cliff. “This ain’t a fucking nature documentary.”

“Shame. Would have been an entertaining home movie if I had the foresight to film it.”

“Thank fucking you didin’t or I- goddamnit, forgot a drink. Go get me one since you’re the reason I forgot it.”

“Man, I’m comfy. I ain’t getting out until I start cooking.”

Well Rick didn’t want to either, but the lack of something in his hand be it a can, stein, or cigarette was going to drive him crazy in the long run. “I… I need to hold something, Cliff.”

Cliff looked over and saw Rick’s hand was starting to shake a bit as it had nothing to cope with. Sighing, Cliff uses and arm to push off the side of the edge of the pool until he lightly bumps up against Rick’s chair, gently taking his hand in his until it stops shaking. “Will that work?”

Rick felt his cheeks turn red out of embarrassment. He hated feeling helpless like this, even if he knew Cliff was more than tolerant than the average person about Rick’s quirks. “Yeah, uh, th-thanks.”

“Did you know… sea otters hold hands so they don’t float away from each other?”

“Jesus Christ, Cliff. You think I’d just finish fucking filming a movie about sea otters and not know that?” He didn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Cliff.

“Well yeah, that’s where I heard about it... on set.”

Rick mumbles to himself as he raises his hand to his lips out of habit, forgetting it was Cliff’s hand he was holding and not a beer. “Oh, fuck, shit, sorry!”

“Why, Mr. Dalton, I do declare. Such a gentleman.”

Rick could have just tossed Cliff’s hand away out of annoyance. He could have. And Cliff knew that, too. But he didn’t, and that spoke enough to Cliff that he just smiled and got back to relaxing on his raft, softly humming to himself.

“Is that that dumb song again?” 

“That dumb song you kept repeating yesterday while I was cleaning the pool? Yeah. The glass ain’t that thick, ya know.”

“I-I-I didn’t keep repeating it. J-just maybe a-a couple more times…”

“I like it for the same reason too, man. No shame there.”

Rick didn’t know why he felt he had to constantly keep his guard up around Cliff. They both clearly knew Rick was the more emotional of the two and yet Cliff was the more willing of them to just let the feelings naturally flow, something Rick noticed the opposite of when Cliff was engaging with others where he was more calculating and observing, as if he constantly has to gage the threat level of everyone he meets. That must mean he’s completely comfortable around him enough that he doesn’t see Rick as any kind of a threat, which Rick didn’t know if he should feel insulted by or honored.

“So you, uh… so you gonna get to c-cooking?”

“I can. If you want.”

It was almost on cue that a breeze blew by, causing Cliff’s lighter raft to drift a bit. Rick, without thinking, held onto his hand a little tighter to keep him from going too far.

“Nah. O-on second thought I’m pretty c-comfrotable as is. I mean it’s only what, ten in the morning? Right?” Rick squinted and looked up at the sky trying to gage where the sun is and trying to remember what direction is what to no avail.

“Rick. You slept in until about one.”

“... Goddamnit.”


End file.
